Brandon Boatwright, Ph.D., is a two-time graduate of Clemson University and completed his doctoral studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in communication and information with an emphasis in advertising and public relations. His research focus examines the intersection of sports, social media and opinion leadership.

Brandon Boatwright leverages social media analytics to provide minute-by-minute sentiment analysis of social media users based on various demographic factors, including but not limited to country, state, city, gender, age and social media platform.

Through his research, Boatwright has analyzed how influential social media accounts, including news organizations and individuals, are discussing topics on both a macro and micro level, as well as providing real-time insight into what topics of conversation are generating the most volume on social media.

Boatwright has published original research in Public Relations Review, the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, Computers in Human Behavior, the Journal of Public Interest Communication and the Southern Communication Journal. He is an active member of the National Communication Association and the Southern States Communication Association. He is currently co-authoring a textbook on social media research methods designed to arm students with the latest social media research tools and data analysis strategies.